College
by mustlovejosh
Summary: "The girl in front of him has an amused smile on her lips, her eyes a striking gray that he had never seen on anyone else before, and her hair in a long braid that ran down her shoulder. He thought she was beautiful." Rated 'M' for later Chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Peeta Mellark is laid out on his bed, the sound of his roommate's squeaking bed keeping him up. He had banged his fist on the wall about a hundred times, asking them to _please_ be quiet but of course, that did nothing. Peeta had to wake up early for class tomorrow, he needed sleep horribly bad. Even with both his pillows covering his ears, the loud sound seemed to make its way through all of the feathers and fabric. He knew that soon, he'd be hearing a knock on the door from one of the neighbors. He wasn't looking forward to that.

Living in an apartment with super thin walls meant no privacy, and Peeta didn't understand why his roommate Finnick Odair couldn't just do that somewhere else; like at his girlfriend Annie's house. Her house was an actual _house_. It didn't have neighbors that could stick their ear to the wall and hear everything you say perfectly, as if you were sitting right next to them.

Soon, Peeta does hear the loud knocking sound he was expecting, the person at the door knocks a good five times, very impatient. With a groan, he forces himself out of bed and into the living room, taking in a deep breath before opening up the door. He is rubbing his tired eyes when he hears a woman's voice, "Uh, what is your friend doing in there?" Peeta removes his hand from his face at the sound, they hadn't had a girl live in their hall in ages. The girl in front of him has an amused smile on her lips, her eyes a striking gray that he had never seen on anyone else before, and her hair in a long braid that ran down her shoulder. He thought she was beautiful.

He was thinking he probably looked horrible right now, his eyes probably show the lack of sleep he has had, his own hair probably a complete mess from moving around his bed all night; trying to block out the noise. "He's...having sex," Peeta says in a friendly voice, humor taking its part along with it. The girl laughs at this, her smile taking Peeta's breath away.

"Sounds like it," she starts; pointing towards his room where the noise can be heard from here. "Sorry to ask you this but could you maybe, uh, get him to stop? I don't like hearing them when I'm trying to fall asleep." She smiles kindly at him, her eyes flashing towards the bedroom when the sound of Finnick's yell is released into the room.

Peeta slightly wrinkles his nose at this, disgusted by the sound. "Sure, I'll try my best," He promises. "I have banged on the wall a few times, trying to get them to stop, but you see how that turned out."

She smiles, and Peeta swears he could look at her all day when she did it. It made him feel weird inside; he usually wasn't attracted to girls just from sight, but this one changed everything. Peeta has to pull himself out of the thought when he notices that he is staring, not that the girl can even tell though with her eyes locked on Finnick's bedroom door and all...

Finally, her attention moves back to the boy in front of her. "I'm Katniss, Katniss Everdeen," Her voice is soft as she speaks. "I just moved next door last week, that's probably why you haven't seen me around."

When she holds out her hand to him, Peeta instantly takes it into his, "Peeta Mellark, I've lived here ever since I started college," He steps closer to her without knowing. "Do you have a roommate, too?" He felt the need to ask since she appeared to be alone, if him and Finnick had been kept up by that sound, he swears they _both _would have been beating down the person's door.

Katniss smiles shyly at him, looking over her shoulder for something. "Yeah, her name is, Johanna Mason,"

He lifts a confused eyebrow at the woman, a half smirk playing on his lips for a reason he couldn't figure out, "And she wasn't bothered by the noise?" He asks; amused. "Sounds like a tough girl."

"She sure is..and a very deep sleeper," Katniss adds with a smile. "I need to get to bed, I have an exam in the morning. Please tell your buddy in there to maybe wait until a weekend for that." Peeta can't help but laugh at that. "It was nice meeting you, Peeta."

The sound of his name coming off of her lips send chills through his whole body, making the weird feeling from earlier come back. "You too, Katniss. I'll see you around," He softly yells after her as she makes her way back to her apartment. She sends him a wave over a shoulder and that is the last thing he sees before closing the door.

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**Should I continue or no? Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

Katniss is woken up by the sound of her alarm clock buzzing in her ear, she would have stayed in bed longer if it hadn't been so damn loud. The sound of the neighbor's sex had finally quieted into nothing, giving her a full nights rest. Well, at least more then she usually gets. Katniss quickly hopped into her shower, washing off the sleep of last night before slipping on a t-shirt and jeans for school. She was pretty sure she was ready for her exam, after all, she had studied all weekend instead of going to the parties with Johanna.

Speaking of her roommate; she could hear the said woman in the kitchen, the horrible sound of a pot or pan hitting the floor. Johanna curses loudly at herself, and it brings a smile to Katniss' face. Throwing her damp hair into a braid, Katniss escapes her bedroom, ready to start her usual day. Johanna sits at the kitchen table, stuffing her face with pancakes that she had, for once, made by herself.

She sticks a huge piece in her mouth before noticing Katniss in the room, "Hey, look whose up!" The spikey headed girl yells with excitement. "You almost slept in, brainless." Katniss rolls her eyes at the woman; she hated when she called her brainless, but it had become a nickname for her.

Katniss leans across the kitchen counter, grabbing a apple in her grasp before bringing it up to her lips and taking a bite. "Unlike you, I didn't sleep all last night," She comments. "The neighbor was having sex, not like you heard it, being a deep sleeper and all..."

Johanna stops chewing her pancake, her mouth a gape as she stares at her friend. "What?" She asks with the smallest bit of laughter laced in her voice. "Did you go over there and shut him the hell up?" Katniss' memory goes to the man who answered the door; Peeta she thinks was his name. She could remember thinking how incredibly attractive he was with his bright blue eyes and messy blonde curly hair; just the thought of him made her smile.

"Yeah, I asked his roommate to quiet him down," She quietly reply's, her head down, her eyes staring at the apple in her hands. "He was pretty nice, and not terrible to look at." Katniss could just see the smirk on her friend's face, what had she just done? Instead of facing her friend; to scared to see the actual smirk, she glances up at the clock, her apple almost falling out of her hand at the sight. She was going to be late to class, she needed to get going. Grabbing her backpack quickly off of Johanna's chair and shouting her a quick goodbye, she is out the door in a flash, running towards the elevator.

She presses the grey button right beside the doors, turning the edges of it a bright orange color. She is biting on her thumb nail while she waits, counting down the minutes she had left to make it to her seat on time in her mind. She slightly jumps when she hears a deep voice beside her, "Hey," She looks up, a smile taking its place when she sees Peeta. His blonde hair is brushed out today, looking much better then it had last night, his blue eyes even brighter and she didn't think that could even be possible.

"Hi," She offers, her smile growing wider as she speaks the word.

Peeta notices the shyness in her voice, and has to choke down the smile that threatens to come across his lips. He tries not to look at her because, for him, that would only lead to staring. He really didn't want the girl that he had just met to think he was always going to be doing that, because he usually didn't. But the girl standing beside him was different. He parts his lips to ask where she is headed but the sound of a door slamming interrupts him. "Peeta, dude, you said you'd wait for me," His roommate Finnick's voice cuts through the silence they had originally been comfortable with.

Katniss peers over her shoulder at him, _so this was the man that kept her up all night._ He was very built, his hair a bronze color, deep green eyes that she was sure made every girl drop dead at the sight, but she didn't really find him attractive. She watches him look her over, a smile that takes up his whole face spreading across his lips. She rolls her eyes, turning back towards the elevator that seems to be taking forever to get to her floor.

Peeta sighs, "I did wait for you," He points out, motioning towards the elevator that Katniss' eyes seemed to be glued to. "I'm here aren't I?"

Finnick waves a hand at his friend, "Yeah, Yeah," He speaks quickly, coming over to stand by Katniss. "Who is your friend?" Peeta knew that he would do something like this, so he wasn't surprised when Finnick finally did come over to Katniss, a _very_ huge smile on his face.

Katniss turns towards the man, her hands holding tightly to the right strap of her backpack, refusing to take his hand if he does put it out. "Katniss," She spits at him, her eyes staring deeply into his as she tries to make him feel uncomfortable. He opens his mouth to say his own name but she stops him, "I know who you are. I had to come to your apartment last night, maybe you shouldn't have sex in a place where people can hear."

Thankfully, then the elevator door opens; Katniss had lost track of how much time she had left all because of the man in front of her. She steps inside without hesitation, waiting for the two boys to do the same before she hit the lobby button. But when Finnick steps inside, he hits it for her, a cocky grin on his face. She ignores the urge to roll her eyes a second time.

Peeta is leaned up on the opposite side of the elevator that the woman is. He has a book in his arms as he tries to quickly go over the poem he needs to memorize for English class. He had remembered it last night, knew it like the back of his hand. But somehow after he met Katniss, he had forgotten the whole thing. And there had been a few times that, when he was starting to get it back in his brain, he would look back up at her, watch as she completely ignored Finnick, making him forget it again.

Katniss was watching Peeta through the corner of her eye. She had seen him looking over at her, and it made her bite her bottom lip to keep from smiling. Finnick was talking to her, she could hear him, but she wasn't listening. Her eyes were on the top of the elevator which showed what floor they were on, while her mind was on the man that was standing a few feet away from her. How could she listen?

The number of their floor was flashing and soon, the ding came, pulling Katniss from her thoughts, and Finnick from his sentence. Peeta shut the book he was holding, stuffing it into his backpack before stepping out into the lobby. The first person he sees is Haymitch Abernanthy, the drunk that checked people in, taking a sip from his flask. Finnick sends him a wave, but all the old man does in return is grunt. Finnick rolls his eyes, and tells Peeta he is going to run to class. Peeta nods and turns towards Katniss again.

Katniss sees the man too. But she doesn't bother smiling or waving, she knows that the man didn't want it, and that he wouldn't do anything back except stare. "Do you know, Haymitch?" Peeta decides to ask her, seeing her eyes resting on the man. Katniss' head turns towards Peeta at the sound of his voice, she still wasn't entirely used to him talking to her quite yet.

She shrugs, "Sort of," She allows, her eyes looking everywhere but at the handsome man beside her. "He used to work for the school, he was the assistant principal. He got fired for drinking to much, as you can see."

Peeta smiles, and Katniss knows that she shouldn't look at him now, his smile would only make her melt. "Yeah, he is loving whatever is in that flask, isn't he?" He chuckles, glancing over his shoulder at Haymitch. The man was watching some kids run down the hallway, screaming at them to stop before he made them. This got a laugh out of Peeta.

The hot summer sun was beating outside, taking Katniss' breath away right when she puts a foot out there. Peeta, on the other hand, is used to it. His father owns a restaurant back home, and he used to work there, sitting in front a stove practically everyday. He didn't like the heat, he never has, but he has been forced to live with it. "It's hot out here," Katniss comments, laying a hand above her eyes to keep the sun away.

Peeta doesn't say anything in reply, he couldn't complain about the heat because he has felt much worse. Once they both walk inside the college, Katniss' tennis shoes squeaking on the floor as they walked, they exchange a small goodbye as they walk down separate hallways to their first classes of the day.

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

"You're telling me that the girl from the elevator heard Annie and I?"

Peeta is seated on the couch in the living area, the sound of his roommates voice is pulling his attention away from the book in his hands. Running a hand through his hair, he sets down the book, crossing his legs underneath him, and looking at Finnick over his shoulder. "Yes, she said it herself, didn't she?" He could hear the annoyance in his voice, but by the look on his friends face, he hadn't noticed it.

Finnick shrugs, shoving a cupcake in his mouth, and wiping away the icing off his face with the back of his hand. "She said it," He says, flopping down by Peeta on the couch. "But you never said anything about it this morning. All you said was one of our neighbors was knocking on the door, I assumed it was maybe the rich man down the hall, Caeser Flickerman. Not some hot girl."

Peeta sends his friend a telling look as he leans down to grab his tennis shoes off of the floor. He was supposed to go get a tuxedo for his brother's wedding next weekend, and right now seemed like the best time to do so. "Katniss isn't just some hot girl," He says, slipping his shoes on before grabbing his car keys off of the coffee table. "We can talk about this some other time, I have to go get a tux for Caleb's wedding."

Finnick shouts him a goodbye which is cut off by the slamming of the door. Peeta presses the button of the elevator and stares out the window beside him as he waits for it to come up to his floor. He hears footsteps come over to him, a womans voice beside him as she curses herself. He looks at the person from the corner of his eye to see a spiky headed woman, a bottle of pepper spray attached to the key chain in one hand while she tries to put her heel on with the other. He smiles to himself.

When the elevator reaches their floor, they both step inside at the same time. "Which floor are you going to?" She asks rudely, rolling her eyes.

Peeta throws his hand in his pocket, reaching for his now vibrating phone. "Uh, lobby," He lifts his phone to his face, seeing the flashing yellow light with the name _Delly_ on the screen. He hesitates before pressing the phone to his ear and clearing his throat, "Hello?"

"Finally you answer your phone!" Her voice so loud he has to pull the phone away from his ear. "Gosh Peeta, I was beginning to think you had died, or at least didn't want to talk to your best friend!" Peeta listens to his friend go on and on about not calling her lately, and he truly felt bad. Him and Delly had been friends since before he could remember, and they promised each other that when they went to college that they would call one another at least once week. Peeta had completely forgotten about that, he actually hadn't called her since their friend Thresh's birthday party; almost three weeks ago.

After Delly gets done yelling at him, he chuckles to himself, "Sorry Dell, I've been busy," He tries to explain, only to result into the girl saying he could have _at_ _least _texted her. He could hear the woman in the elevator with him laugh. He looks over to find her looking at him, amusement written all over her face. "Delly, I am truly sorry, but can I call you back when I get back to the apartment?"

She sighs loudly into the phone, "You better, Peeta," She warns, "If not, I won't come to Finnick's party this weekend, then you will have to explain why Delly Cartwright couldn't make it." And with that, she hangs up the phone. Peeta shakes his head at the blank screen.

The elevator opens and Peeta tries to push through the people that are coming inside, whispering a quiet 'sorry' to most of them. He is pushing the lobby doors open when a familiar voice calls out his name. He looks over his shoulder to find a small girl running his way, ice cream covering her face. With a smile, Peeta leans down to catch the child, hugging her tightly to him. "Hey Posy," He says, pulling her arms away from his neck. "Where is your brother?"

Before the little girl can answer, the sound of her older brothers voice cuts through the air. When the man sees Peeta, a smile of relief comes across his face. "Thank God!" Peeta's friend, Gale Hawthorne says lifting Posy off of the ground and over his shoulder, getting giggles out of the child. "Good thing Peeta got you, or else I'd be scared shitless."

Peeta chuckles, "Be glad I turned around," He reaches up to pull on Posy's small foot. "She was calling my name, I barley heard her." Gale laughs, laying her back on the ground. Peeta watches as she runs over to the elevator pressing the big gray button. Gale grunts and rolls his eyes, yelling her name over his shoulder; not that the little girl even listens to him.

With a sigh, Gale turns back towards Peeta, "So, Finnick told me some girls moved in up stairs," His lips form a huge smile. "How do they look?"

Peeta knew his friend was a player, just last week he asked four girls out in the same day, which he accidentally arranged all of the dates at the same time. He also knew that once Gale saw Katniss, he would be trying as hard as he could to get her. "Great, uh, are you going up to meet Finnick?" He decides to change the subject, fearing his friend might push out what he actually thought of his neighbor.

"Yeah, we are going out to lunch," He says with a shrug, sending his watch a quick glace. He opens his mouth to speak again, but is cut off when someone calls out Peeta's name. Peeta looks over Gale's shoulder to see a girl from his science class, Madge Undersea with Katniss right behind her, staring down at the pen in her hands.

Gale lifts an eyebrow at him, but Peeta shakes it off, walking over to meet the two of them. "Hey Madge," He says with a smile, his eyes flashing between her and Katniss at the moment. "What are you doing here?"

The long blonde haired girl points a thumb behind her, "Katniss is helping me move to my new house," Katniss' head pops up at the mention of her name, her eyes growing wide when she recognize the man in front of her. He was wearing a tight light blue button down shirt, his blonde hair falling in his eyes, and his arms crossed over his chest. And he was looking at _her_.

She smiles lightly at him, "Hey,"

"Hey," He smiles back, forgetting that Gale was even standing beside him right now. But before he can even entirely forget, his friend holds out his hand to the woman, tearing her eyes away from his. Peeta fought the urge to frown.

"Gale Hawthorne," Katniss stares at the mans hand before looking back at his face. Her eyes were telling him she wasn't going to take it, and he noticed by the way pulled his hand back, smoothly running it through his hair with a smirk. "You're Katniss...?"

She gives him a suspicious stare. "Everdeen."

He nods. "Well, Katniss Everdeen, would you like to go on a date with me sometime?" Peeta starts to bite his bottom lip scared that she might _actually_ say yes. But from the way she is looking at his friend, he highly doubts it.

She shakes her head. "Nope." She smiles widely at him as she walks over to stand by Peeta. She leans up to his ear, a bright smile on her face. "Make sure your friend leaves me alone." He slightly shivers at this, and she notices. It makes her smile even bigger. "Come on Madge, we should get going."

As she walks out, Katniss sends him another smile, one she can't seem to get rid of.

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_Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! Y'all don't know how excited I get when I look at my email and it says new Review! I love all of the Alerts and Favorites, too! Those keep me going!_

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